Written By
Anirudh Sood
on
Saturday, 9 April 2016
|
22:53:00

The Kasauli distillery and brewery were set up in the late 1820s at
Kasauli (before the town was established nearby) by Edward Dyer. He
brought with him, brewing and distilling equipment from England and
Scotland. This equipment came by sailing ship as far up the Ganges river
as possible, before being loaded onto ox drawn carts and taken up to
the Himalayas via the route to Shimla. Some of the original equipment
including the copper pot stills are still in use today.
Edward Dyer selected the location of his brewery/distillery due to
the fine springwater available there and because the climate at this
altitude was similar to the climate of Scotland. His stated ambition was
"to produce a malt whisky as fine as Scotch whisky," albeit from
much higher highlands. Another reason for this location was that there
was a ready market of British troops and civilians in Shimla and
elsewhere in Punjab for his products. He started by making India Pale
Ale and malt whisky from the Kasauli brewery and distillery.
Later on, after the town of Kasauli was established and began using
much of the springwater, the brewery was dismantled and moved to nearby
Solan where it still operates today. However, the distillery remains at
Kasauli and is the oldest operating distillery in Asia and one of the
oldest whisky making distilleries in continuous operation anywhere in
the world.
Edward Dyer incorporated his company in 1855, following the full
establishment of British East India Company rule over the Punjab with
the annexation of Punjab in 1849. This brought the area under British
law which included the incorporation of companies. The company was
incorporated as Dyer Breweries Limited and it later merged with Meakin
Breweries Limited to become Dyer Meakin Breweries Ltd. The company still
exists today under the name Mohan Meakin Limited.

Historically, the main whisky brand made by the Kasauli distillery
was a well regarded single malt named "Solan No. 1" named after the
nearby town of Solan. Solan No. 1 was the best selling Indian whisky for
over a century until the 1980s. In recent years, it has seen a decline
in its fortunes. Today it is struggling against many much bigger rivals,
which are largely flavoured rums (distilled from sugar cane juice). It
remains the only malt whisky made in the Himalayas.
Today, Mohan Meakin's
principal liquor brand is Old Monk rum, whiskies include Diplomat
Deluxe, Colonel's Special, Black Knight, Summer Hall and Solan No. 1.
The company also produces London Dry and Big Ben gins, and Kaplanski
vodka.